Report Cites Likely Cause Of Paris Terminal's Collapse

July 7, 2004|By Craig S. Smith The New York Times

PARIS — The partial collapse of a terminal building at Charles de Gaulle Airport outside Paris in May was probably caused by steel support rods punching through the weakening concrete shell of the unusual building, according to a preliminary report released Tuesday.

The report, prepared by an investigative commission at the request of Transport Minister Gilles de Robien, did not assign responsibility for the collapse, which killed four people. It also said it was too early to say whether a design flaw or faulty materials were to blame.

But the commission noted that the stresses acting on the building, Terminal 2E, were of "great complexity," particularly at the point where the collapse occurred, and its findings are likely to fuel further debate over whether the terminal's unconventional design contributed to its failure. Many critics argued in the wake of the accident that architects are pushing materials and engineering to dangerous limits in the search for new, surprising shapes.

The damaged portion of the terminal building, completed a year ago at a cost of $900 million, is an elliptical tube built with technology developed for the construction of underground tunnels. To simulate the pressure of the surrounding earth that keeps the concrete tube of an underground tunnel intact, the architect, Paul Andreu, used steel hoops attached to the outside of the tunnel with short steel rods.

Several of these rods punched through the concrete shell, and may have precipitated a cascade of failures as stresses built up elsewhere, according to the report.

A separate, criminal investigation will determine who is responsible for the collapse.